A message from Sandi MacDonald:
Match Play and tournament play has begun! Thanks everyone for setting up your games.
A little rules review:
Provisional or No Provisional: That is the question!
The answer from GO (Golf Ontario):
PROVISIONAL: If you think your ball is lost OUTSIDE a penalty area (for example, into trees or long grass, not in a hazard) or your ball MIGHT be Out of Bounds, please play a provisional. If you cannot find your original ball, your provisional becomes the ball in play. If you do find your original ball, that is the ball that must be played. If you have not hit a provisional and can't find your ball, you must go back to the original place and play again. For pace of play, no one wants to make that walk backwards.
NO PROVISIONAL: If you think your ball is in a penalty area (formerly known as a hazard) …pond, creek, creek bed rough, or any area marked with red stakes, you may NOT play a provisional. If you think it may be found/playable, you must verify BEFORE hitting another ball. You may not hit a "provisional" ball and then look for your first one.
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Red vs Yellow Stakes: You may have noticed that all our penalty area stakes are now red. You still have the same options when playing from red stakes that you did from yellow. With a penalty of one stroke you may:
1. Play from the same place again.
2. Keep the point of entry into the penalty area between you and the flag and drop, as far back as you want on that line.
3. Drop within 2 club lengths from where it went in, not nearer the hole.
And, you can always try to play from a penalty area. The rules changed a few years ago to allow us to move "dead stuff" away from the ball and to ground our club.
